Sir Percival's Proposal
by LittleMissBrit
Summary: Percival proposes to his love before an important quest. Percival/OC with mentions of Arthur/Gwen and other knight/OC pairings. Part of the 'Golden Age,' series.


**The Golden Age series is my new set of stories based on the Camelot in its age of glory. As well as focusing on main characters such as Arthur, Gwen, Merlin and the knights, I will also be adding OCs like Anna, Ladies Sarah and Molly, and Ellie.**

**Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine! Only the OCs ****are****.**

**Quick note, I will not be adding Lancelot in the stories. He is on a long journey….**

**Percival's Proposal**

The moon shone garden long after dusk had settled on Camelot's citadel. It was a private place where the knights went to for social calls (if the weather permitted), sometimes for private training, a good chat or a game of cards.

But tonight, history was going to happen.

Percival waited calmly on the bench. Well, his exterior seemed calm. Inside, his heart was thudding against his ribcage, nervousness spiralling through his veins like blood.

"I am surprised that you wanted to meet me now," a voice interrupted his thoughts, "It is rather late, you know."

Sarah smiled at him (not down, they were the same height even when he was sitting down). She wore a deep blue dress with a white furry shrug, rather like a rug for fashion. The cold breeze was obviously getting to her as she pulled it closer.

"I know," Percival smiled at her.

"Is there something wrong?" Sarah was suddenly filled with misgiving, "Oh my, is Elyan taking a turn for the worse? I know that his leg was infected but I did not actually think it was serious."

"Calm down," he laughed in his deep voice, "Elyan is fine, as far as I am aware. If he was doing badly, I would come straight to your chambers, you know what right."

She nodded, still with a slither of worry in her. She missed having Molly in the adjoining room, but she was married now. She and Leon had their own little place in the castle. Percival stood up and joined his hand with hers.

"Walk with me," he requested.

"Why should I?"

Typical Sarah- she never did as she was told.

"Because I'd like you to?" It was more of a question.

She nodded in acceptance and they started down the path, in complete silence. Most people in the castle were preparing for bed; the only people really awake were the couple and the guards patrolling the area.

"Okay, so if Elyan is okay, what else could be the matter?"

"Nothing is wrong, I assure you."

"Then would you care to tell me why we are out a' walking at this late hour?"

"Not yet. In time, you will find out. For now, let's just continue on."

Sarah looked at him sceptically, but said no more.

They had gone forward several paces before a sudden noise emitted from the bushes. In the blink of a flirting girl's eyelash, Percival had his sword out in a defensive position.

"Stay very still."

Sarah froze immediately, looking spookily like one of the statues in the main square. Making sure that no-one was looking, she slipped the concealed dagger from under her dress.

The bushes rumbled and the two were ready to pounce.

A cat shot out from the shrubbery, its orange fur glistening. The pair visibly relaxed and Percival placed the sword back in his holster. He turned around to see that his companion was having trouble placing the silver blade back in its original position.

"You carry a dagger?"

Sarah did not seem fazed, "You never know when there could be trouble. Bandits never suspect a 'lowly' woman of being able to defend herself."

Percival was shocked.

"Have you ever used it before?"

"A couple of times, but it was more of a warning," she replied as a sound of metal signified that it was properly placed, "Shall we precede with our walk?"

He nodded and held out his arm, which she accepted.

"It is certainly chilly tonight."

"Tis indeed- unseasonably cold for this time of year."

There was even more awkward silence as they reached a sharp corner and turned it quickly in order to avoid going straight into the uninviting brick wall.

Several guards strode purposefully across the open corridor, bowing their heads as a sign of a respect for the pair. They secretly wondered why on Earth they were out at such a late time, but it was not their place to question the nobility.

"Did you, erm, enjoy Leon and Molly's wedding then?" Percival stuttered.

"That was four months ago."

"I know."

"Considering I was Maid of Honour, I would say I enjoyed it very much. Molly's dress was of perfect quality and she and her now-husband were very happy indeed. The food was amazing and as was the dancing, even though my feet were on the brink of death by the end of the night."

Percival chuckled slightly, "And the Royal Wedding?"

"That was well over a year ago."

"I know."

Sarah rolled her eyes, "I enjoyed that also. That was a truly excellent event without being too elaborate. Gwen, or Her Majesty as I should call her, looked absolutely amazing. However, that is not a patch on that pale magenta gown. You know the one with the flowers adorned down the side and..."

"I am aware of it," Percival knew to cut off Sarah's rants about dresses early before she got into full swing girl-mode.

"It looks like everybody has somebody now."

"Gwaine?" Sarah questioned, eyebrows raised.

"He is married to his drink."

"Elyan?"

"He has an interest in Anna, but he is a little too shy to say."

"How about Merlin?"

"I caught him holding hands with Gwen's friend Ellie in the alcove a couple of days back, but I pretended that I had not seen anything."

His face drained of colour as Sarah burst out laughing.

"I promise on Molly's life that I will not breathe a word of that to anyone."

Percival was relieved by this- Sarah was close to her now-married best friend and would never threaten her life even though she did not necessarily believe in it.

"Then there is us," he smiled down at her, almost forgetting how tiny she was in comparison. The only person who felt tinier around him was the queen, who was even smaller than the lady.

"Us. The giant and the one whom everyone calls small even though she is an adequate height," Sarah replied, good-naturedly.

"You are quite tiny."

"Says you! It is not my fault that you are taller than some of the statues in the courtyard!"

There was silence for a moment.

"We have another mission tomorrow, travelling to the Valley of the Fallen Kings. Elyan, Handrien, Franel and several others are unable to go because of their injuries so we are taking some of the new recruits."

Sarah shuddered, "It is dangerous there. Some of Cenred's old supporters are rumoured to dwell there. You know how vicious they can be- like he was."

"They are no match for the Knights of Camelot."

"I know that, but I am still worried."

"You love me, do you not?"

"Yes, with all my heart. What has that got to do with anything?"

"Then you will have faith in me, like I have faith in you."

Sarah creased her brow but said no more.

"Okay, I accept that it is dangerous. That is why I'd like to say something, if you would let me."

"Go ahead," Sarah nodded and he led her a little more down the path until he was right in front of her favourite flower bush- the one with the red and cream roses which twisted around and faced every direction, not a leaf in sight.

"What I am going to say is pretty big, so will you promise that you will not say a word until I am finished?"

"I promise."

"Good." Percival dropped down to one knee. Sarah gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth, eyes as wide as saucers. She was mentally calculating in her head what she was going to say.

"I know that I may not come back alive from this mission, but I will fight to do so. This ring is a promise that I will be thinking about you all of the time. After my parents and sisters were murdered, I did not think that I would ever be able to love again."

It was hard for him to say that. The death of his family was still a sore spot and it was well-known around Camelot that he was very protective of children because of he felt that he had not protected his siblings well enough.

"Then I met all the knights- Gwaine is like the mischievous twin, Leon is the sensible older brother, Merlin is the young one you feel protective of, Lancelot is the one who is like your best friend and Elyan is the one you can always talk to. Arthur is the firm but fair father with Gwen as his loving, kind-hearted wife and mother hen. Ellie and Anna are the quiet younger siblings. Molly is the girl who gets along with everyone and looks after the littler girls."

"Then you are the one I love. The one who makes me laugh at your jokes and smile at your beauty. The one who entertains all with your witty put-downs and one-liners."

He reached into his pocket and revealed a beautiful piece of jewellery. The ring was white gold with a simple, single diamond placed into the middle. It sparkled in the moonlight, finishing off the classy look.

"So will you marry me?"

Sarah, instead of blinking back tears, let them run freely down her cheeks like a river.

"Yes," she gasped, eventually retaining the power of speech, "Yes, I will marry you."

He grinned and jumped upright, placing the ring gently on her finger. She beamed at him as he wrapped her in his huge, strong arms, whirling her around. After several seconds of staring, their lips met and they kissed passionately for several minutes.

He dropped her to the ground softly, making sure that she landed on her feet.

"I cannot believe we are engaged," Sarah smiled as Percival pulled her closer to him in an effort to keep her warm, "This ring- it is beautiful."

"It was my mother's ring."

She looked at him, surprised. Her face insinuated that she wanted to know more without saying so.

"You are probably wondering how a simple farmer like my father could have obtained such a stunning item, are you not? Well, he was a rather excellent gambler. He won it in a poker tournament- he wanted it the second he set eyes upon it. He needed to impress his future wife."

"That is the first time you have ever talked about your parents in such detail."

"Well, you know it is hard," she stated.

Sarah did know that. Her parents were indeed perished. Her mother had passed away, caught by a fever when she (Sarah) was a teenager whilst her father was killed in battle.

"It is getting late," Percival observed, "I will walk you to your chambers."

"I am perfectly capable of walking to my room, but thank you for the offer."

"I am not going to leave my fiancée unattended in the dark, even if she has a dagger."

"Fiancée," Sarah mused, "What a lovely ring it has."

"It does," Percival bent down and pecked her temple, "Come on, it will be an early morning for the both of us."

She smiled for the billionth time that night as they began to walk under the stars.

Percival knew that tomorrow, when he faced danger, he would have something to go home and fight for.

**Hey, I hoped you enjoyed it- please review.**

**Percival is my favourite knight (especially since last episode, if you get what I mean) because he is so sweet yet funny at the same time. He really needs a back-story and I do not think he gets enough fics, so here is mine!**

**I usually ship Percival and Elena but that is usually in my Modern AU stories.**

**If you have any adventures (or misadventures) in mind, please drop a review and I may possibly write it. If I do, I will dedicate it you. The next one will involve Gwaine having a bit of fun doing 'Knock, Door, Run.'**

**Semper Fi xxx**


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